Dame Elizabeth Taylor has died

Screen icon, Hollywood legend and arguably one of the most beautiful actresses of the 20th century,Dame Elizabeth Taylor, has died.

According to American news websites the 79 year old actress died from issues congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles earlier today.

As famed for her timeless beauty as she was for her penchant for collecting husbands - she was married eight times to seven husbands, Elizabeth starred in over 60 movies in her almost six decade-long acting career.

But despite her unprecedented fame in movies such as Cleopatra and Little Women, Taylor battled alcoholism in the 1980’s and there are claims that she never found the happiness she sought after eight disastrous marriages.

As a two-time Academy Award recipient for Best Actress, she was also an entrepreneur with a successful range of perfumes and jewellery lines. She was also a devoted supporter of AIDS research and spearheaded a number of campaigns in Hollywood to create awareness about the killer disease.

In recent years, it was Elizabeth’s friendship with late King of Pop Michael Jackson which garnered worldwide attention, with the actress serving as a godmother to two of Jackson's children.

The mother of four and grandmother of nine leaves behind a legacy which will no doubt be cherished by her fans from yesteryear and tomorrow.